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4 Cars... one objective. "Fun to drive AWD sports car."
I have test driven the following 4 cars recently, so if you're
in the market for one of the following read on. All Euro Specs.
The reason for this test drive, was my friends new Lancer Evo9
and my other friends new S4. We simply had to go out there and
compare! So we each drove each of the cars a little bit, but we
left the nastiest twisted roads to the respective owners to avoid
accidents.
We drove around Switzerland's freeways and mountain roads, using
those mountain roads that were still open. Some roads were dry,
some were wet. All cars were fitted with V rated Winter tires!
We drove a total of 379 Miles in one day!
- Audi S4 (344Hp V8 Stick)
- Volvo S60R (300 I5 Turbo Stick)
- Mitsubish Lancer Evo9 (280Hp I4 Turbo Stick)
- Subaru Impreza STi (280Hp B4 Turbo Stick)
(and there was my budy's good old stock 1993 Lancia Delta
Integrale Evo2 (formerly mine), only 215Hp but 450Lbs
lighter then the lightest of the above 4 cars, and my
280Hp Hirsh SAAB 9-5)
1. Audi S4 V8 Sedan.
The highlights:
Excellent steering, brakes and engine response.
Plenty of power at all engine RPM. Very nicely made interior.
Fine optional sound system. Low noise level. Fool proof handling
with ESC ON. Full time AWD. Well adjusted suspension that is
nor harsh nor mushy. Great car for highway driving. Very good
gearbox. Decent sized trunk. ESC can be partially switched off.
Very good side crash protection.
The low points:
Average front crash safety. Inferior leather quality. Very intrusive
ESC that also limits maximum lateral acceleration, no matter what
tires you put on. Loses power at altitude. Retains the typical
AUDI sideways understeer slide with ESC off. Nose heavy which
limits its capabilities on mountain roads. Limited leg room for
rear passengers. Very high price. Very high fuel consumption
when you're not on a highway. Too attractive to car thieves.
Performance (taken from various car-magazine tests):
0-62 Mph 5.5 Sec; 0-124 Mph 21.7 Sec; Skidpad 0.84G
Fuel consumption measured by owners in MPG:
Hwy:17.3; City:12.7; Mountain:9.9; Trip Avg:10.7
Sum it up: Best S4 ever.
2. Volvo S60R.
The highlights:
Very direct but numb steering. Very good brakes and very
linear power delivery. Above 2'000 RPM the engine has plenty
of power. Very nicely made interior. Very nice leather.
Fine optional sound system. Low noise level. Fantastic 3 modes
electronically controlled suspension. Fool proof handling with
or without ESC on. Best Haldex AWD system on the market.
Great car for highway driving with very decent mountain driving
capabilities. Very good gearbox. Decent sized trunk. ESC can be
fully switched off. At altitude the engine remains powerful.
Very good side crash safety.
The low points:
Both the 5 and 6th gears are too long. Engine lacks the "kick-ass"
effect you would expect from a turbo. Relatively high fuel
consumption, but the best of the bunch. Marginal front crash safety.
Performance (taken from various car-magazine tests):
0-62 Mph 5.7 Sec; 0-124 Mph 23.4 Sec; Skidpad 0.87G
Fuel consumption measured by owners in MPG:
Hwy:22; City:15.8; Mountain: 11.1; Trip Avg: 12.5
Sum it up: S60R offers more then one would think!
3. Mitsubish Lancer Evo9
The highlights:
Best steering of the bunch. Excellent feedback and very direct.
Typical fun "kick-ass" turbo power, above 3'000 RPM hell breaks lose.
Well made Japanese car interior. Best handling, grip of the bunch.
Surprisingly good driver and passenger space. Nice Recaro seats.
First rate brakes with a race ABS. No intrusive ESC.
Front and rear limited slip differentials.
Center and rear computer controlled differentials.
Best AWD system of the bunch. Drives like an AWD should drive,
capable of all kind of AWD power drift tricks which are fun and
make it immensely fast on a twisted road. Best resale value
of the bunch because LHD models remain scarce. Average front crash
safety. Nice size trunk. At altitude the engine remains powerful.
The Low points:
Shifter is not very accurate. No heated seats. Audio system is
very basic. Engine lacks torque compared to the other 3.
Very high fuel consumption when you push hard. Noisy.
Harsh ride. Radical AWD handling, NOT suited for inexperienced drivers.
Marginal side crash safety. Short range.
Performance (taken from various car-magazine tests):
0-62 Mph 5.5 Sec; 0-124 Mph 23 Sec; Skidpad 1.06G
Fuel consumption measured by owners in MPG:
Hwy:19.4; City:14.6; Mountain: 8.3; Trip Avg: 9.9
Sum it up: Superb fun for the expert, NOT for the novice!
4. Subaru Impreza STi
The highlights:
Very powerful engine. Plenty of torque. Very strong acceleration.
Very good AWD system with front and rear limited slip differentials
and a computer controlled center differential. Firm but nicely
adjusted suspension. Combines the S4 highway speed with most of
the Evo9 handling advantages. Only slight understeer. Very easy
to drive fast, suited for less experienced drivers.
Average front crash safety. At altitude the engine remains powerful.
The Low points:
Poorly made seats. Inaccurate shifter. No heated seats.
Audio system is very basic. Very high fuel consumption.
Short range. Noisy. Way too small trunk. Interior space
is limited in the front and in the rear. Not for tall
folks like me. Marginal side crash safety. Poorest interior
build quality of the bunch.
Performance (taken from various car-magazine tests):
0-62 Mph 5.5 Sec; 0-124 Mph 21.9 Sec; Skidpad 1.03G
Fuel consumption measured by owners in MPG:
Hwy:19; City:15; Mountain: 8.8; Trip Avg: 10.3
Sum it up: Great fun for the money!
During our drive the Evo9 and the STi were always the
fastest on twisted roads. The STi and the S4 the fastest
on the freeways and on straights.
For comparison:
Fuel consumption of the Lancia during the trip: 10.8 Mpg
Fuel consumption of the Hirsh 9-5 during the trip: 19.3 Mpg
Notes: The AUDIs ESC can be switched off, but it never stayed off.
The Volvo ESC can be swicthed off 100% if you push off 5 times.
Regards,
Coolknight
posted by 212.77.42...
, Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:41:58
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